Arnold Palmer Invitational: Third-round notebook

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- Bart Bryant, Sean O'Hair, Vijay Singh, Bubba Watson and Tiger Woods are part of a five-way tie for the lead going into the final round. In 2005 at the BellSouth Classic near Atlanta, there was a five-way tie through 54 holes, and all five -- Arjun Atwal, Rich Beem, Brandt Jobe, Phil Mickelson and Jose Maria Olazabal -- ended up in a playoff when rain washed out the final round. Mickelson won the event.

• Since 1970, these are the other 72-hole tournaments where five players were tied for the lead after 54 holes: (winner in bold)
• 2005 Deutsche Bank Championship (Billy Andrade, Jason Bohn, Olin Browne, Carl Pettersson, John Rollins)
• 1983 Bank of America Colonial (Jim Colbert, Peter Jacobsen, Mike Reid, Bobby Wadkins, Fuzzy Zoeller)
• 1978 First NBC New Orleans Open (Homero Blancas, Gibby Gilbert, Lon Hinkle, Gary Player, Fuzzy Zoeller)
• 1976 IVB-Philadelphia Classic (Jerry McGee, Larry Nelson, Jerry Pate, Tom Purtzer, Ken Still)**
• 1971 Andy Williams San Diego Open (George Archer, Miller Barber, Dave Eichelberger, Lee Elder, Bob Stone)
* Tom Kite won

Sean O'Hair hit a career-low round of 63 Saturday at Bay Hill. (Greenwood/Getty Images)

• Sean O'Hair's 63 Saturday was the first 63 at this event since 2006 when Darren Clarke shot a 9-under 63 when the Bay Hill Club & Lodge was a par 72. Clarke's 63 also occurred in the third round. Clarke eventually finished third. The 63 also is O'Hair's career low on the PGA TOUR. His previous best-18-hole score, a 64, came at the 2005 TOUR Championship.

• Tiger Woods has recorded 11 birdies this week against five bogeys, but the world's No. 1-ranked player only has multiple birdies on the par-5 sixth hole. He's birdied No. 6 in the first and second rounds. He made par there Saturday.

• Prior to his third-round 63, Sean O'Hair's lowest 18-hole round at this event was the 66 he shot in the first round last year when he tied for 14th.

• There were only three birdies on the 16th hole Saturday. They came from George McNeill, playing in the first group of the day, Lee Westwood and Tiger Woods. The par 4 played to a stroke average of 4.507. The par-4 fourth hole remains the toughest overall, with a stroke average of 4.318.

• The international players in the best position through 54 holes is still Fiji's Vijay Singh, with England's Lee Westwood tied for seventh. The tournament's only international champions are South Africa's Ernie Els (1998), Australia's Rod Pampling (2006) and Singh (2007).

• On Saturday, Vijay Singh entered the third round leading the Arnold Palmer Invitational at 9-under 131. By the end of the day, five players were leading the tournament at 6 under. The only other time this season that the third-round leaders' score has been higher than the second round score was at The Honda Classic. That week, Brian Davis was at 8 under through 36 holes, and three players led at 6-under after the third round (Mark Calcavecchia, Luke Donald and Matt Jones).

• In the previous two tournaments in Florida, the winner has come from three strokes back on the final day to win. Sean O'Hair trailed Stewart Cink by three at the PODS Championship, and Ernie Els was three behind Luke Donald at The Honda Classic.

• Jim Furyk is in position to record his second top-10 finish of the year. Furyk is tied for 12th through 54 holes. His other top-10 performance in 2008 was his tie for fifth at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship.

• Cliff Kresge, a three-time Nationwide Tour winner, has never won on the PGA TOUR. He is tied for seventh entering Sunday's final round, two strokes off the lead. His previous-best finish at a TOUR event was his tie for third at the 2002 B.C. Open. This is his 145th career PGA TOUR start.

• Tiger Woods has not been in this good of a position heading into the final round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational since 2003 when he was leading with 18 holes to play. A year ago, he was tied for 10th through 54 holes before tying for 22nd. Here is his history at the event:

• Bart Bryant's success this week shouldn't come as a surprise. In his previous three appearances at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge -- in 2005, 2006 and 2007 -- Bryant has never finished worse than tied for 20th. Heading into Sunday's final round, Bryant is tied for first. He tied for eighth in 2008, followed by a tie for 20th in 2006 and a tie for 18th a year ago.

• Defending champion Vijay Singh saw his Bay Hill par-or-better streak at this event end at 13 consecutive rounds. Singh opened with rounds of 66-65 this week until he fired a 3-over 73 Saturday.

• This week, there were 21 players appearing in their first Arnold Palmer Invitational, with 10 of them making the cut. Leading the way continues to be Ken Duke, the 2006 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year. Duke is tied for seventh after a third-round 72 Saturday. Here are the other first-timers and their scores:

• Tiger Woods is 42-3 when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead and 8-2 when he is tied for the 54-hole lead. Woods was tied with Vijay Singh at the 2000 TOUR Championship, and Phil Mickelson went on to win. At the 2004 TOUR Championship he was tied with Jay Haas and Retief Goosen was the eventual winner. In 1996, Woods held a one-stroke lead over Ed Fiori at the 1996 Quad City Classic in a tournament Fiori won.